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Abstract
There is continuing debate on the extent of the effects of media violence on children
and young people, and how to investigate these effects. The aim of this review is
to consider the research evidence from a public-health perspective. A search of published
work revealed five meta-analytic reviews and one quasi-systematic review, all of which
were from North America. There is consistent evidence that violent imagery in television,
film and video, and computer games has substantial short-term effects on arousal,
thoughts, and emotions, increasing the likelihood of aggressive or fearful behaviour
in younger children, especially in boys. The evidence becomes inconsistent when considering
older children and teenagers, and long-term outcomes for all ages. The multifactorial
nature of aggression is emphasised, together with the methodological difficulties
of showing causation. Nevertheless, a small but significant association is shown in
the research, with an effect size that has a substantial effect on public health.
By contrast, only weak evidence from correlation studies links media violence directly
to crime.